I waited patiently for the Lord;
he turned to me and heard my cry
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.Psalm 40: 1-2
This morning I attended the U2 Eucharist at Holy Covenant United Methodist Church in Chicago, IL. A U2 Eucharist (a little history here) is a church service in which the music of U2 replaces hymns. Holy Covenant choose quite a few of my favorites to incorporate today, but “40″ really touched me this morning. It’s a song that I haven’t listened to in a while, but being a pretty big U2 fan was very familiar with. When thinking about a journey of faith, this song makes a lot of sense. Inspired by Psalm 40, the first passages (listed above) truly do speak to my most recent journey. A journey of faith, or a resurrection of a sleeping faith, and a journey back to church.
The U2 Eucharist was extremely inspiring today. Not only did I remember how much I love the music of U2, but I felt called to contribute more of my time toward causes that are dear and important to me. Bono seems to have become the face of philanthropy. Criticism has been plentifully directed at Bono over the years. Many see his endless face in the news as a sign of narcissim. Many feel he could be giving more money to his charities (Oprah has experienced the same criticisms). But you can not deny that Bono is attempting to bring justice to this world. Say what you want about his music or aspects of his character, but denying his contributions is silly. He inspires me to take part in global fights and to contribute in whatever ways I can in my home town. I have done, and intend to continue to do, those very things.
Many of you in my life have known that I’ve been going regularly to Holy Covenant, after years of not participating actively in a church of any kind. Holy Covenant is a place and a church that I now call home. I’ll be officially joining October 18th. It’s the first church I have joined as an adult and the first I’ve been actively involved in since the Catholic Church I was raised in. Having a community to call my own is something I didn’t realize I missed until it was felt again. I’m hoping that whatever your belief system, political views, gender, sexual orientation, race or ethnicity, socio-economic background or location, you find a firm place to stand on.
PS: This post was a bit disjointed but i was anxious to get back in the game. Sorry for the hiatus…I hope to be better.
